It is Stolen
by Kat713
Summary: Takes place after The Siege: Part 3. Weir and Zelenka talk about what they and the rest of the city have just been through. A little flirty but no established relationship yet.


It is Stolen.

Takes place after The Siege: Part 3

...

It was nearing three am and Elizabeth hadn't been to bed for longer than a few hours. She'd laid in bed willing herself to sleep for what felt like days before she finally got up and dressed. Might as well check how the city was doing while she was awake. Hopefully the next crisis would wait until after she'd had a full night's rest. She headed to the med bay first, still clearly remembering all those they had lost in the past few days.

Thankfully, Carson had finally managed to get back to his quarters, one of his doctors keeping an eye on those asleep in their hospital beds. She gathered Colonel Caldwell's medical report before leaving, knowing she'd likely leave it sit on her desk for the next several hours. She wandered through the rest of the city, passing through the empty mess for a cup of coffee before heading down to the labs.

She walked for what felt like hours, her brain too tired to think, too tired to care. The city lit the dark halls as she passed through them. She stopped at the only lit lab. She saw no one but leaned her head inside, lightly rapping her knuckles on the wall to the side of the door. "Co je?" [what?] Radek Zelenka popped up from behind the nearest computer, stretching. She smiled at him tiredly, wincing a bit when she caught sight of the bruise on his face.

"Dr. Zelenka. Shouldn't you be asleep?" she glanced at her watch. "You and McKay have barely slept since we learned the Wraith ships were on their way." He rubbed his eyes, shrugging.

"Well, yes," he said removing his glasses and cleaning them on the edge of his shirt "but there is still much work to be done." He replaced his glasses and looked up at her. "You have not slept very much either, I suspect?"

She dropped into a seat beside him, taking a sip of her coffee. "How did you guess?" he shrugged again.

"I would imagine the stress makes sleep very difficult." She made an approving sound and watched as he raised a new program on his computer, pointing to a layout of the city. "Power is still having trouble reaching these parts of the city. I'm working on a damage report at the moment. We have survived, but our city has taken much damage."

She sighed quietly, her shoulders dropping low. The sight made him ache for her as he imagined her heart breaking for every life lost in the past few days. And without thinking, he reached out to her.

His hand fell lightly on her shoulder. Her heartbeat thumped loudly at the contact but she didn't pull away. "To je ukraden. [It is stolen.] " He muttered quietly. Her forehead creased and he smiled slightly, imagining her sorting through her limited Czech vocabulary.

"I don't understand." It made him happy knowing that she was still trying to learn his language. He wondered if his would this be the ninth or tenth language she had learned.

"I mean to say… it is…" he waved his hand about some searching for the correct word. "Stolen. It is stolen." Her brow knitted further together. He'd confused her again. "Time." He said simply. "Our time is stolen." She gave a sad smile. His hand fell from her arm to her hands, clasped tightly on her knees.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose it is, Radek."

"Every moment is a moment between the wars. Every moment is snatched from death." Her head bowed tiredly and he feared she had misunderstood him. He squeezed her hand gently and she looked up at him. He took a deep breath. "We must be thieves, Elizabeth. We must learn to steal these moments." It seemed as if a weight lifted from her shoulders with his words. Her smile reappeared and no longer seemed quite as sad.

"Where did you learn to be so wise, Dr. Zelenka?" she asked him placing her other hand atop his. He shrugged.

"My grandmother. She told me these things many times during my childhood." He sighed. "I was a child when the Russian tanks rolled into Prague. I was twenty four when the war was finally over." Elizabeth put her hand on his arm. He could feel her warmth through his jacket. Had he been less tired it would've made his heart race. As it was, it only made his heart clench. It made him want to touch her also. To wrap his arms around her and comfort her, comfort them both.

"I never fully considered it, Radek. I am so sorry. This must have been so difficult for you." He put his hand over hers.

"It was difficult for everyone in this city." He said shrugging. "I am but one of many. As are you." She met his blue eyes as hers filled with tears. She shoved her emotion away with a glance away, pulling her hands back to her coffee. When she looked back to him he seemed even more tired, the dark purple under his eye looking even worse than before.

"Lieutenant Ford got you good, didn't he?" Zelenka poked at the discoloration under his eye gently, snorting.

"He certainly has a hell of a punch." He grumbled As soon as the words left his mouth, he turned red and she started laughing. "I did not mean- I apologize-" he stuttered.

"Relax, Radek. If anyone has a right to complain about that situation, it's you."

"Yes, well. You've every right also, Elizabeth." She looked up at him quickly, smiling. "What?"

"I think that's the first time you've ever used my first name, Doctor Zelenka." He began sputtering again before she slipped off her stool and touched his arm as she walked past him. "I don't mind." She looked over her shoulder before leaving. "And Radek? Try to get some sleep."

He smiled at her. "You too, Elizabeth."

...

The following quotes and specific dates and background about Radek Zelenka are by jo-graham (.livejournal)'s Favorite Part of Death Game.

"My grandmother did not think so. "It is stolen," she told me. "All of this is stolen. Every moment is a moment between the wars. Every moment is snatched from death. You be a thief, Radek. You learn how to steal."

Translations are from other RZ/EW fanfiction and Google translate. Feel totally free to correct me :)

Any prompts/ input/ ideas are more than welcome!


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